


The Good Guys

by T-Rex (tmishkin)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Court Martial, Gen, Government Confiscation, Kurdish Uprising 1991, Persian Gulf War, Peshmerga, it was self-defense!, of iPods!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:35:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26716879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmishkin/pseuds/T-Rex
Summary: Eric Selvig had a hand on her arm, trying to pull her away, saying something about danger and caution. Jane was so done with caution. She jerked away from her old mentor and faced Agent Coulson again. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to lose everything you’ve ever worked for?”He didn’t answer. She thought she saw a flicker of emotion cross his bland face—the first in their entire exchange—but all he said was “Thank you for your cooperation.”
Relationships: Clint Barton & Phil Coulson, Phil Coulson & Jane Foster, Phil Coulson & Original Character(s)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wish that the MCU had been able to spend more time on the relationship between Jane Foster and SHIELD, particularly with Phil Coulson, who led the team that confiscated/appropriated/borrowed/stole her research. But that's why we have fan fiction!  
> 

Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, 2010

Jane Foster had just said goodbye to the man who called himself Thor when her entire life rolled down the street on a series of flatbed trucks.

Her lab equipment! Men in black suits were driving off with it! She broke into a run toward the former used-car dealership where she had spent the past several years, Darcy and Erik right behind her. 

Jane loved astrophysics like nothing else in this world. That passion drove her into the space that had held her life’s work—now empty!—and up to the man who was issuing orders, the center of the storm of activity.

“What are you doing?!” she said coldly, tipping her head up to glare into his face.

“Dr. Foster,” he said, “I’m Agent Coulson with SHIELD. We’re investigating a security threat. We need to appropriate your records and all your atmospheric data.”

The nerve! “By appropriate, you mean steal,” she said. “What kind of government organization are you?” He hadn’t shown her a badge or anything.

The man handed her a piece of paper. It was a check, how infuriating! Did this suit think that she could be bought off, shut up for money?

“I’m on the edge of a scientific breakthrough! I built most of this equipment myself. I can’t just go to Radio Shack and buy replacements!”

“I’m sure you can build it all again,” the suit—Coulson—said, his tone aggravatingly even.

“And I’m sure I can sue you for violating my constitutional rights! My entire life’s work is in those computers and this book,” she ground out, waving her journal in his face.

All that accomplished was some young twit of an agent snatching it out of her hands and tossing it one-handed into the back of an SUV while grabbing her arm with the other.

“I’m sorry, Dr. Foster, but we’re the good guys,” said Coulson, neatly blocking her from the SUV and the young twit from manhandling her further.

Erik Selvig had a hand on her arm, trying to pull her away, saying something about danger and caution. Jane was so done with caution. She jerked away from her old mentor and faced Agent Coulson again. “Do you have any idea what it feels like to lose everything you’ve ever worked for?”

He didn’t answer. She thought she saw a flicker of emotion cross his bland face—the first in their entire exchange—but all he said was “Thank you for your cooperation.”


	2. Chapter 2

Zagros Mountains, the Kurdish region of Iraq, fall 1990

“The United States could be a friend to the Kurds,” said Sergeant Coulson.

Captain Barzani sipped his tea. “Kurds have no friends but the mountains,” he said finally.

“So the saying goes. But perhaps the Americans can be your allies.”

“Perhaps.”

Zagros Mountains, the Kurdish region of Iraq, mid-February 1991

Captain Barzani sounded almost excited. “Sergeant Coulson,” he said, “Your President Bush has made a most interesting speech on Voice of America. It sounds as though he encourages the Iraqi people to rebel against the dictator. One wonders, however, what is lost in translation. And what is not said.”

Coulson hesitated, then spoke. “The questions you ask are wise.”

Barzani nodded. “He did not speak directly of revolution but of forcing the dictator to resign. I see the distinction, but many will not. I am ordered to move south and east towards Sulaymaniyah. You will come?”

“Yes. My orders at this time are to remain with your unit.”

Tasluja Hills, west of Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdish region of Iraq, early March 1991

“The fighting has begun,” said Captain Barzani. “The PUK drove the dictator’s men out of Rania this morning. We will be joining three other units of KPD under the command of my uncle.”

“Thank you,” said Sergeant Coulson. “I may have new orders soon, but for now I can accompany you, if you wish it.”

“It is good for the Americans to know what is happening here,” Barzani said. “But can you fight?”

“In self-defense only.”

near Kirkuk, the Kurdish region of Iraq, mid-March 1991

“What was that?”

“Self-defense.”

“They were shooting at _me_!"

Late that night, Coulson caught up with Captain Barzani. “I received a message,” he said. “The rebels in the south have lost Basra. If the tide turns here in the north as well, they will order me to leave.”

“We are not like those soft southerners,” said Barzani. “In ten days we have taken every city in the north except Kirkuk and Mosul, and we are pounding on the gates of Kirkuk even now. But thank you for sharing this news, my friend.”

Tasluja Hills, west of Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdish region of Iraq, late March 1991

“We have lost Kirkuk,” Barzani said tightly. “And those who are not truly peshmerga are deserting us.”

“We call them weekend warriors,” said Coulson. “But I think they are not warriors at all.”

“You who are no Kurd are yet more peshmerga than they are.”

They sat together in silence for some time.

“We cannot stand for long against the dictator’s tanks and helicopters. We must retreat toward the border, protect those who did not fight but will suffer nonetheless. And your orders have come, have they not?”

Coulson sighed. “You saved my life yesterday and today I must tell you that I am leaving in your hour of greatest need. It is not right.”

“It is the will of Allah,” said Barzani, who rarely spoke of religious matters.

“I do not know the will of Allah, but this is the will of men who are far from here,” said Coulson. “I will stay.”

Kore, near the ruins of Qaladiza, the Kurdish region of Iraq, early April 1991

“There will be no independent Kurdistan for now, but we live to fight another day,” said Captain Barzani, “thanks in no small part to you.”

“The ferocity of the peshmerga is inspirational,” said Coulson with a half-smile.

“We are retreating into Iran tomorrow.”

“And I must go south and surrender myself to the judgment of my superiors.”

“You have fought well and honorably. Will they not take that into account? No? Then I will ask my commander to write a letter on your behalf. They should know that Massoud Barzani’s men hold Sergeant Coulson in the highest esteem.”

“Thank you, my friend.”

“May peace be with you.”

“And with you as well.”

Kuwait, June 1991

“Sergeant Coulson, you have been charged with Failure to Obey an Order or Regulation under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

“Sergeant Coulson, did you or did you not disobey a direct order to return to headquarters?

“Sergeant Coulson, did you or did you not fight with the KDP against Iraqi troops?”

“Sergeant Coulson, we have received a letter from Massoud Barzani, commander of the KDP."

“Sergeant Coulson, Colonel Nicholas Fury has asked to see you.”

“Sergeant Coulson, you are dishonorably discharged from the United States Army and sentenced to time served.”

“Nick, what am I going to do? The Army was my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Historical and Fictional Background Information
> 
> After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, the United States joined a coalition with 38 other countries. SFC Phil Coulson, Army Special Forces, received orders that autumn to embed with a unit of peshmerga loyal to the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) in northwestern Iraq. The peshmerga have a long-held reputation for fierce fighting. The term means “those who die first,” in the sense of a strike force or shock troops. Captain Barzani is a fictional character close to Coulson’s age (late 20s) who belongs to the large and influential Barzani tribe, headed by Massoud Barzani, the real-life commander of the KDP at that time.
> 
> Army Special Forces troops are highly trained in language and culture. They usually operate in four-person teams. SFC Coulson was fluent in Arabic upon deployment and began learning the western Kurdish dialect spoken by most KDP members. 
> 
> Operation Desert Storm began in mid-January 1991 and by the end of February, Iraqi troops had been driven out of Kuwait by the coalition forces. The United States then considered whether to fight a ground war in Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein. In mid-February and early March 1991, President George H.W. Bush gave speeches broadcast on Voice of America that encouraged the Iraqis to force Saddam Hussein out of office. 
> 
> Bush and his advisors were hoping for a coup but they got two separate rebellions, one in southern Iraq and one in the Kurdish-dominated north of the country. The coalition forces did not support the rebels, although General Norman Schwarzkopf warned the Iraqis that coalition aircraft would shoot down Iraqi military aircraft flying over the country. Schwarzkopf exempted helicopters so that Iraqi government officials could travel by air, but the Iraqis used them as gunships against the rebels. The Iraqi troops, particularly the Republican Guard, who were still relatively well-armed, defeated the rebels in the south and then headed north to deal with the Kurds.
> 
> The turning tide of the rebellion in late March and early April 1991 that is depicted in this chapter led to over a million Kurds fleeing towards Iraq’s borders with Iran and Turkey. The helicopter gunships deliberately strafed refugees on multiple occasions. Land mines left from the Iran-Iraq War also took many lives and limbs.
> 
> The commander of the KDP, Massoud Barzani, stopped the Iraqi forces at a narrow valley called Kore near the Iranian border. He was President of Iraqi Kurdistan from 2005 to 2017. 
> 
> Massoud Barzani’s rival and sometime-ally Jalal Talabani, leader of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) negotiated a ceasefire with the Iraqi government in 1991 that saved the lives of many Kurds. He was president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014.
> 
> On April 5, 1991, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling on Iraq to stop killing its own civilian population. Operation Provide Comfort brought humanitarian relief to the Kurds starting the next day, and a no-fly zone was created north of the 36th parallel. Ten nations worked together not only to provide aid but also to defend Kurdish refugees in the air and on the ground. It was, in a sense, an invasion of Iraq, but one that involved protecting and feeding civilians and rebuilding homes and infrastructure. In the long run, a Kurdish de facto autonomous region was created in northern Iraq.
> 
> Lieutenant General John Shalikashvili led Operation Provide Comfort. Wikipedia says that Shalikashvili “achieved real distinction with his considerable success as the commander of Operation Provide Comfort, the peacekeeping and humanitarian activity in northern Iraq after the Gulf War. This assignment involved intense and complex negotiations with the Turkish government, and tough face-to-face meetings with the Iraqi military.” He later became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the first person not born in the United States to hold this position. 
> 
> Since you have joined me on this trip down Wikipedia Research Lane, let’s conclude with a couple of Shalikashvili Fun Facts:
> 
> In 1958, Shalikashvili, his parents, and his siblings became American citizens. He had spent the first 22 years of his life as a stateless person because he was born to refugee parents. His parents were a Georgian prince and a Polish countess, but that and $2 will get you a (small) cup of coffee.
> 
> In 2007, Shalikashvili penned an op-ed in the New York Times calling for a reversal of Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT). He published another in 2009 in the Washington Post. The policy was reversed July 22, 2011, the day before he died of a stroke.


	3. Chapter 3

Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, summer 2010

“Wow, just wow,” thought Jane. Thor had destroyed the fire-breathing metal giant by pulling it into a cyclone and beating the crap out of it with his flying hammer. He had spoken warmly to her (she hardly knew what she had said in return) and then had told his comrades that they must return to the Bifrost site.

“Donald!” someone shouted, approaching from behind a wrecked car. Oh, it was Agent What’s His Name, striding up to them with a cocky grin on his face.

Thor straightened and spoke formally, if quickly. “Know this, Son of Coul,” he said to the SHIELD agent who had imprisoned and interrogated him. “You and I, we fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward, you can count me as your ally—if you return the items you have taken from Jane.”

“Stolen!” said Jane, cheering silently.

“Borrowed,” Coulson amended. “Of course you can have your equipment back. You’ll need it to continue your research.”

Then the most terrifying and amazing day of Jane Foster’s life got even wilder.

“Would you like to see the Bifrost?” Thor asked her.

As they flew straight up into the sky, Jane could hear Coulson shouting from below: “Wait, I need to debrief you!”

Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, summer 2010

“You crack me up, Coulson. You gonna debrief the god of thunder?”

“Agent Barton, good morning.”

“I saw the security footage. You are such a fanboy, sir—the look on your face when he couldn’t lift the hammer, priceless!”

“It was a tragic moment, Agent, show some respect.” Coulson paused, remembering. “You said you were rooting for him after he got past Dempsey.”

“Dempsey is a tough nut to crack, boss. Gotta respect a guy who gets past him barehanded, not to mention a dozen other guys with guns.”

“It was impressive.”

“Not half as impressive as he was once he got going with that hammer.”

SHIELD Headquarters, New York, fall 2010

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” said Agent Coulson. “I know our first encounter was a little rocky.”

“No shit,” thought Jane.

“The way your people came storming in and snatched everything was excessive,” she said, in as polite a tone as she could manage. “Why take Darcy’s iPod? That smacks of intimidation, not investigating a security threat.”

Coulson raised an eyebrow. “You’d be surprised what those devices can hold, but let’s just say that the junior agent who grabbed your arm was assigned to listen to every file from beginning to end. I believe that was 11 hours of crunkcore and Gregorian chants followed by the 1812 Overture?”

“Darcy has . . . interesting taste in music. And I appreciate knowing that man’s behavior wasn’t considered acceptable. But listen to me. I was devastated. I thought that the government would never allow my research to be published. It was the end of everything I knew.”

“We would appreciate seeing your work before you send it to a journal, but we won’t stand in the way of your research.”

“Now you won’t. But if my boyfriend wasn’t heir to the throne of Asgard?”

Coulson smiled slightly. “You have a unique opportunity to influence how SHIELD interacts with the scientific community, Dr. Foster.”

“Well,” Jane said, “in more ways than one. Now I have firsthand experience of what you mean by ’security threats’.”

“And I have firsthand experience with losing everything that matters to me. I was about your age when it happened. You and I were fortunate—our lives were restored to us, or quickly changed in a positive way. That doesn’t always happen,” Coulson said.

“No, it doesn’t. Some people say one door closes and another opens, but that’s always felt simplistic to me. But speaking of doors, the Bifrost was a door between our world and a place we know almost nothing about. That giant fire robot probably came here by the Bifrost just as Thor did. Who knows what else is out there?”

“You will help us answer that question, I think. Times are changing, Dr. Foster. Rapidly. We can’t always take the time to talk to people instead of, as you said, snatching everything.”

“At least we are talking now,” Jane said. “It’s a beginning.”

“Indeed.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk about, Agent Coulson? I’m heading back to New Mexico tomorrow to continue my research.”

“I think we’re good for now. Best of luck. We can use an ally like Thor. And a scientific mind like yours.”

As Jane walked the city streets that afternoon, she thought about their conversation. How many others had had their life’s work confiscated by SHIELD, or by some other government agency? How many ever had their equipment returned? And what had happened to Erik Selvig’s friend who disappeared while researching gamma radiation? Perhaps Darcy would like to dig into that. Jane smiled. Darcy was an excellent digger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clinton Francis Barton, how dare you worm your way into my Coulson & Foster fic?!
> 
> Tip of the pen to Maquis_Leader for Agent Dempsey’s name, from that fabulous fic “Roomies."


End file.
